The Future, COR and Mental Health

In the news this week on Diesel News, we look at the future, COR and mental health, alongside inclusion for women.

How Australia’s transport system might work in the lead up to the year 2040 is shown in a series of snapshots which reveal the transformational impact of factors like automated vehicles, better real-time data and analytics, more riding sharing and changes in consumer preferences.

These scenarios are explored in new papers which are part of the National Transport Commission’s Land Transport Regulation 2040, and paint four different but plausible scenarios of what the transformational changes might mean in practice.

According to the NTC, Australia is set to see the biggest change in transport since cars replaced horses, and both industry and government organisations should increasingly prepare for uncertainty and look for new ways to encourage innovation.

“These four scenarios are not predictions of the future, but they help industry, governments and the community examine the implications of changes in automation, data sharing, shared mobility and consumer demand,” said Paul Retter, NTC CEO. “Different sectors of the economy and the regulations that guide them go through long periods of stability followed by short periods of significant change.

“This work will help stakeholders start developing responses to the opportunities and challenges Australia’s transport system is likely to face in the future. For us this work will help us develop reform projects to make sure we have the right kinds of transport laws at each stage of this period of transformational change.”

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is running an industry workshop to test systems and tools that support effective Chain of Responsibility practice across the logistics chain, on November 6 in the NHVR auditorium, at its Brisbane headquarters.

Road transport is a unique business, particularly long haul which relies on people having a willingness to work away from family and friends. An awareness of mental health and being a workplace that takes mental health seriously is an important part of running a trucking business – whether you own and operate your truck or you have several employees on your books.

Although women make up around half the Australian workforce, they only account for five percent of the roles in the transport industry. How can trucking become a career of choice for a largely untapped labour pool?

“Women make up a tiny proportion of Australian heavy vehicle drivers, but they’re just as capable of driving a big rig as a man,” said Heather Jones of the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls, explaining her goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment to welcome females into what has long been a male-dominated industry.

“We know that the road freight task is increasing, but fewer people are entering the industry, and a big part of this is an image problem. We want to change that. For a lot of people, driving a truck is all about machismo, but to us its about getting the job done safely and efficiently. And, that’s where women come into play.”